Device for testing the skill of a manipulator

ABSTRACT

The invention is in a device for testing skills, in which the device may be cylindrical, with an inner concentric tube, which has either a number of openings leading to the interior of the tube, or a number of receptacles which are sealed off from the interior of the tube, but opening into the area between the tube and the main cylinder, where a number of loose pieces, such as marbles, which may be of different colors, are loose in the space between tube and cylinder, so that these loose pieces may be agitated by the manipulator in order to catch the pieces flying through that space either in the openings, or in the receptacles, and where the pieces may be colored, and the holes or the receptacles may be identified by colors, to make necessary an even higher degree of skill to effect the locating of the proper piece in the proper opening or receptacle.

United States Patent 1 D'emaio 1 1 Aug. 26, 1975 [76] Inventor: PeterDemaio, 142 Bay 7th St.,

Brooklyn, N.Y. 11228 [22] Filed: July 17, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 489,380

Primary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-Harry G.Strappello Attorney, Agent, or FirmHenry L. Burkitt 1 ABSTRACT Theinvention is in a device for testing skills, in which the device may becylindrical, with an inner concentric tube, which has either a number ofopenings leading to the interior of the tube, or a number of receptacleswhich are sealed off from the interior of the tube, but opening into thearea between the tube and the main cylinder, where a number of loosepieces, such as marbles, which may be of different colors, are loose inthe space between tube and cylinder, so that these loose pieces may beagitated by the manipulator in order to catch the pieces flying throughthat space either in the openings, or in the receptacles, and where thepieces may be colored, and the holes or the receptacles may beidentified by colors, to make necessary an even higher degree of skillto effect the locating of the proper piece in the proper opening orreceptacle.

10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures DEVICE FOR TESTING THE SKILL OF AMANIPULATOR The invention relates to a device for testing the skill of amanipulator. The device is intended to test such skill in itsmanipulation to bring together identifiable objects with identifiablereceiving means.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device which may, in oneembodiment, be cylindrical in form, wherein there is associated with anouter container, an inner tubular member, which may have a common axis,and if both container and member are cylindrical, may be substantiallyconcentric, where, in the space between container and member, there maybe positioned, at the commencement of a manipulation, small pieceswhich, by imparting to the assembled container and member, movement, asfor instance, by shaking, or vibrating, or imparting a revolvingmovement to, the whole device, to obtain centrifugal, and thencentripetal, motion, and where the inner tubular member is provided witha plurality of openings which may provide open communication between thecontainer and the interior of the tubular member, or where suchcommunication may be by means of openings into receptacles which do notcommunicate with the area within the tubular member, so that, inaccordance with skill of the manipulator, the pieces may be caused tofall through the openings or into the receptacles, and thus a device isprovided by means of which a manipulator may test his skill in seeking,by his manipulation of the entire device, to bring the pieces into theopenings, or into the receptacles, as the case may be.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device in which the pieceshereinbefore referred to may be colored to provide an additional testfor determining more exactly the skill of the manipulator in relation tohis ability for associating a piece of a distinctive color with aspecific opening or receptacle.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of the characterindicated, in which the container may be of any general contouring, andthus not limited to a cylindrical cross-section, and where the innertubular member likewise may be of any desiredcross-section, in order toprovide a further element in testing the skill of the manipulator.

Other objects of the invention will be set forth hereinafter, or will beapparent from the description and the drawings, in which are illustratedembodiments exemplifying the invention.

The invention, however, is not intended to be restricted to anyparticular construction, or any particular arrangement of parts, or anyparticular application of any such construction or arrangement of parts,or any specific method of operation or use, or any of the variousdetails thereof, even where specifically shown and described herein, asthe same may be modified in various particulars, or may be applied inmany varied relations, without departing from the spirt and scope of theclaimed invention, of which the exemplifying embodiments, herein shownand described, are intended only to be illustrative, and only for thepurpose of complying with the requirements of the Statutes fordisclosure of an operative embodiment, but not to show all the variousforms and modifications in which the invention might be embodied.

On the drawings, in which the same reference characters refer to thesame parts throughout, and in which are disclosed such practicalconstructions,

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a device embodying certain features ofthe invention, parts being broken away to disclose internalconstruction, and parts being shown shaded for color;

FIG. 2 is a detail cross-sectional view, substantially on the line 2 2of FIG. 1, showing the construction in which just openings are providedinto the bore of the inner tubular member, and certain of the marblesbeing shaded for color;

FIG. 3 is a detail cross-sectional view, substantially of the sameconfiguration as FIG. 2, except that the openings in the walls of theinner tubular member receive receptacles which are carried by and extendinto the interior of the inner tubular member, where the bottoms of thereceptacles are sealed against communication with the area within thetubular member, and certain of the marbles are shown shaded for color;and

FIG. 4 is a detail cross-sectional view, substantially on the line 4 4of FIG. 3, of the container and the inner tubular member, showing piecesat rest on the inner surface of the container and a receptacle.

On the drawings (FIGS. 1 and 2), there is depicted a device in which acontainer 10 is formed from material, such as a clear plastic, so thatthe manipulator will be able to observe what is happening within thatcontainer as he handles it. Although container 10 is shown to be ofsubstantially cylindrical form, it is to be understood that thiscylindrical for is not the requisite form, although it may be desirablefor certain purposes, as, for instance, ease in manufacture. Forinstance, an cetagonal cross-section may produce some of the resultswhich may also be attained by a cylindrical crosssection, but, ofcourse, creating a situation where the manipulator must display muchgreater skill than with a container which is of cylindricalcross-section. It is to be understood that, in any case, the thicknessof the material forming walls 12 of container 10 should be sufficient sothat such walls will be capable of absorbing the shocks during themanipulations to be described.

Container 10 is closed by end caps 14 and 16, which may be of the samematerial as that used for walls 12. Caps l4 and 16 may be fixed inposition, as, for instance, by being cemented to the end faces 18 ofwalls 12. End caps 14 and 16 may be provided with openings 20 and 22.Atubular member 28, which may be of the same material as container 10,may be positioned within and coaxially with container 10. Its ends 24and 26 may abut against and be secured, as by cementing, to the innerfaces of end caps 14 and 16 around openings 20 and 22. Member 28 may beclosed, at openings 20 and 22, by means of extensions 30 and 32. Theseextensions may be an integral part of end caps 34 and 36 for the openends of member 28. At least one end cap is provided with a cup 38 whichmay nest within member 28, and, by means of a wall extension, fit snuglywithin the bore of member 28 and against end face 40, and yet beremovable therefrom at various stages of use of the device. Extensions30 and 32 may serve to provide handles by which the manipulator holdsand manipulates the device. I V

Tubular member 28, within container 10, is provided with a plurality ofopenings 42, 44 and 46', thes e openings may be formed by cuttingthrough wall 48 of member 28. Whilesuch openings may be centered on astraight line at the same diametrical position on member 28, it ispossible, at least, that such openings 42, 44

and 46 be staggered at different radial positions around wall 48.

Positioned to roll freely in container may be a number of pieces 50. Inthe disclosure, these pieces are in the form of marbles, that is,spherical, the dimensions of which are less than the dimensions ofopenings 42, 44 and 46. Pieces 50 may be provided in shapes other thanthat of a sphere, but the dimensions of the pieces must be such that thepieces may pass readily through any one of openings 42, 44 and 46. Bygravity, these pieces normally will rest on the inner surface 52 of thebottommost portion of container 10, when the container is held by thehands grasping extensions and 32, as, for instance, when the containeris substantially horizontal.

The manipulator, by movements of his hands, may produce any desiredmovements of the container. One procedure found desirable is to moveboth hands of the manipulator so that the whole container, while heldsubstantially in a horizontal position, moves in what approximates acircular path. According to the speed of such movement, pieces 50 willroll upon the inner surface 52 of walls 12 of container 10. However, theexperienced manipulator will try to slow up, and then even to stop, thismovement in order to try to get the pieces to fall through one or moreof openings 42, 44 and 46.

The degree of skill involved may be enhanced by coloring the piecesaccording to a desired scheme, as, for instance, having one of thepieces red, another, white, and another blue. Then the areas immediatelyat open ings 42, 44 and 46 may be provided with a similar colorindication, as, for instance, by a circle of paint 54 immediately aroundeach opening. Then the game may require that the manipulator cause a redpiece 50 to fall through the opening marked with a red indication, awhite piece, to fall through the opening which has the white indication,and the blue piece, to fall through the opening with the blueindication.

If and when the manipulator is able to effect the de sired registry, orif he gives up after having tried and failed, and if he has gotten oneof the pieces 50 to go through one of the openings, cup 38 may beremoved, and pieces 50 moved back to their position on surface 52, inthe interior of container 10. One of end caps 14 and 16 may be formedwith a small flange 56, to be received sungly over a ledge 58 formed atthe end of wall 12 of container 10. Thus, when the occasion arises, as,for instance, as just described, this cap may be removed, and thepieces, which have passed into the interior of tubular member 28, may bereintroduced into container 10, to roll on surface 52.

In the construction depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, the interior of tubularmember 28 is not open to the interior of container 10. Instead, at eachof openings 42, 44, and 46, there is positioned one of receptacles 60,62 and 64. These receptacles may themselves be made of a materialsubstantially identical with the material from which container 10 andtubular member 28 are formed, that is, a clear plastic, so that all ofthe operations which will take place within container 10 will be visibleto the manipulator. Receptacles 60, 62 and 64 may be circular incross-section, and have their ends closed, in each case, by a wall 66.

At the ends at which they coincide with openings 42, 44, and 46, thecylindrical walls 68 of the receptacles are cut away so as to fitproperly into receptacle openings 42, 44, and 46. Obviously where eachreceptacle is assembled with its respective opening, the opening intothe receptacle is less than that of each of openings 42, 44, and 46.However. the bore of each of the receptacles must be greater than thediameter of any of pieces 50.

The same procedure for manipulation may be followed as in the case ofthe device of FIGS. 1 and 2, that is, revolving the container in a pathaccording to the will of the manipulator, but still with the purpose ofcausing pieces 50 to flow around the inner surface of v walls 12 ofcontainer 10, and then to gauge their centrifugal force to cause them tofall as closely as possible to enter one or the other of the respectivereceptacles. Again, there will be the matter of getting the fallingpieces to fall into the proper receptacles 60, 62 or 64, according tothe color of the piece and of the indication at the opening to therespective receptacle. If and when the piece does come to rest in areceptacle, it will not enter the space within tubular member 28, butwill be confined in the receptacle. When another manipulator desires totest his skill, to see whether he can get the pieces into the properopenings, all that is necessary is that the container be rotated, bymeans of extensions 30 and 32, so that pieces 50 fall out of thereceptacles. and onto inner face 70 of container 10.

Many other changes could be effected in the particular constructions,and in the methods of use and construction, and in specific detailsthereof, hereinbefore set forth, without substantially departing fromthe invention intended to be defined herein, the specific descriptionbeing merely of embodiments capable of illustrating certain principlesof the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A device for testing manipulative skills, the device comprising ahollow container of substantially translucent material, a hollow memberof substantially translucent material and disposed substantiallycoaxially within and spaced from the walls of the container andproviding, between the container and the member, a substantiallyunobstructed interspace, both ends of the container and of the memberbeing closed, the walls of the member having a plurality of openingsproviding communication through the walls of the member from the innerspace within the member to said interspace, the openings being allsubstantially in a single line parallel to the longitudinal axis of themember, and a plurality of pieces the largest dimension of each of whichis less than the dimensions of any one of the openings, the pieces beingfree for movement within said inter space, the device having means forimparting movement to the device to cause the common axis of thecontainer and the member to revolve in non-planar movement to cause saidpieces to roll centrifugally in relatively circular paths on the innerwalls of the container, to fly freely in, and to fall through, theinterspace and be caught in an opening to enter said inner space.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the memberbeing tubular and substantially concentric.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the memberbeing substantially cylindrical and substantially concentric.

4. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the memberbeing substantially cylindrical and substantially concentric, and thepieces being substantially spherical.

5. A device as defined in claim 1, the pieces being substantiallyspherical, and the means for imparting movement comprising handle meanssecured to end wall of the container.

6. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the memberbeing substantially cylindrical and substantially concentric, the closedends of the container and of the member comprising end walls, at leastone of the end walls of each of the container and the member beingremovable to provide access to their interiors, and both of the endwalls of the container having handle means for the movement impartingmeans.

- 7. A device as defined in claim 1, the openings providing for freemovement of said pieces between said interspace and said inner space.

8. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the memberbeing substantially cylindrical and substantially concentric, andreceptacles having closed ends extending into said inner space andcommunicating at the openings with said interspace.

9. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the memberbeing substantially cylindrical and substantially concentric, andreceptacles having closed ends extending their closed ends into saidinner space and communicating at the openings with said interspace, eachof the receptacles having a crosssectional dimension slightly largerthan the largest dimension of any one of the pieces loosely to receiveand house any one of the pieces.

10. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the memberbeing substantially cylindrical and substantially concentric, andreceptacles having closed ends extending their closed ends into saidinner space and communicating at the openings with said interspace, eachof the receptacles having a crosssectional dimension slightly largerthan the largest dimension of any one of the pieces loosely to receiveand house any one of the pieces, and the pieces being substantiallyspherical.

1. A device for testing manipulative skills, the device comprising ahollow container of substantially translucent material, a hollow memberof substantially translucent material and disposed substantiallycoaxially within and spaced from the walls of the container andproviding, between the container and the member, a substantiallyunobstructed interspace, both ends of the container and of the memberbeing closed, the walls of the member having a plurality of openingsproviding communication through the walls of the member from the innerspace within the member to said interspace, the openings being allsubstantially in a single line parallel to the longitudinal axis of themember, and a plurality of pieces the largest dimension of each of whichis less than the dimensions of any one of the openings, the pieces beingfree for movement within said interspace, the device having means forimparting movement to the device to cause the common axis of thecontainer and the member to revolve in nonplanar movement to cause saidpieces to roll centrifugally in relatively circular paths on the innerwalls of the container, to fly freely in, and to fall through, theinterspace and be caught in an opening to enter said inner space.
 2. Adevice as defined in claim 1, each of the container and the member beingtubular and substantially concentric.
 3. A device as defined in claim 1,each of the container and the member being substantially cylindrical andsubstantially concentric.
 4. A device as defined in claim 1, each of thecontainer and the member being substantially cylindrical andsubstantially concentric, and the pieces being substantially spherical.5. A device as defined in claim 1, the pieces being substantiallyspherical, and the means for imparting movement comprising handle meanssecured to end wall of the container.
 6. A device as defined in claim 1,each of the container and the member being substantially cylindrical andsubstantially concentric, the closed ends of the container and of themember comprising end walls, at least one of the end walls of each ofthe container and the member being removable to provide access to theirinteriors, and both of the end walls of the container having handlemeans for the movement imparting means.
 7. A device as defined in claim1, the openings providing for free movement of said pieces between saidinterspace and said innEr space.
 8. A device as defined in claim 1, eachof the container and the member being substantially cylindrical andsubstantially concentric, and receptacles having closed ends extendinginto said inner space and communicating at the openings with saidinterspace.
 9. A device as defined in claim 1, each of the container andthe member being substantially cylindrical and substantially concentric,and receptacles having closed ends extending their closed ends into saidinner space and communicating at the openings with said interspace, eachof the receptacles having a cross-sectional dimension slightly largerthan the largest dimension of any one of the pieces loosely to receiveand house any one of the pieces.
 10. A device as defined in claim 1,each of the container and the member being substantially cylindrical andsubstantially concentric, and receptacles having closed ends extendingtheir closed ends into said inner space and communicating at theopenings with said interspace, each of the receptacles having across-sectional dimension slightly larger than the largest dimension ofany one of the pieces loosely to receive and house any one of thepieces, and the pieces being substantially spherical.